- Alicante-Elche Airport on track to break 20m passengers
- 14,739,523 passengers handled between January and August 2026
- Record-breaking August with 2,337,378 passengers
- €868m terminal expansion approved for 2027 to 2031
- England remains dominant international market
Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport has handled 14,739,523 passengers between January and August 2026 putting it firmly on track to break the 20m annual traveller milestone for the first time in its history. Driven by a record-breaking August that brought in 2,337,378 passengers an 11.4pc surge compared to August 2025 the airport is growing faster than any of Spain’s other top four busiest airports. Total passengers increased 9.9pc year-on-year while flight operations increased 10.1pc.
The United Kingdom remains the dominant international market making up approximately 800,000 travellers in August alone. To cope with this increase in traffic and the projected demands of the Costa Blanca tourism sector Spain has approved an €868m terminal expansion package slated for 2027 to 2031. Managed by Aena this overhaul will increase the terminal’s physical footprint by nearly 30pc.
The expansion will introduce a new pier tailored for non-Schengen flights and eventually scale the facility’s capacity to handle at least 26m passengers annually.
